Need help with protecting my wifi from a neighbor

[Hudiniyo]

Hello all,

I need some help with protecting my WiFi.

One of my neighbors keeps hacking into my WiFi network

The recent password that was cracked was 40 characters long (WPA2-PSK-AES). MAC address filtering did not help.

Currently I’m in the process of purchasing a new router/AP that supports WPA3, but it will take some time to find one (I’m looking for a modern device that supports wifi6 and runs open-wrt or dd-wrt).

In the meantime, I would appreciate your help with the following:

a) do you have any creative solution\suggestion on how to protect my wireless network (with WPA2)?

According to my (quite limited) understanding, my best course of action will be significantly decreasing the TX power and eventually just turning WiFi off However, since I do need my WiFi, I would like to try any possible solution first.

b) can I discover who is he? Is there a way to monitor my (hacked!) WiFi network and decipher the traffic to get a better sense of his activity and identity? I read that some tools can show which external IPs he is accessing, but I do not understand how this information alone is going to help me here..

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Paliv]

What makes you think they are hacking your WiFi? You mentioned you wanted a way to monitor it, so what tipped you off to it being hacked?

 

[Tech Junky]

First thing is to hide the SSID and change it to something different along with the password and login password

If you want to track them you could make it a honey pot and disconnect the Ethernet cable so it doesn't go anywhere but logs attempts to connect. Then take the logs and track the device down.

How much effort you want to put into it is the better question.

 

[Tech9]

new router/AP that supports WPA3

You have to change all your devices to WPA3 capable too.

who is he?

Mr. and Mrs. Applewood with randomized MAC address?

 

[Crimliar]

So:
Wireless > Wireless MAC filter > MAC Filter Mode: Accept
Obviously, you have to set up all your devices before you "enable".

*Couple of decades ago using early powerline adapters I discovered that the signal was detectable in my neighbour's ring main - an issue with powerline adapters that's now fixed. But I guess MoCCA adapter could in some situations could be hacked if there is any kind of access via a loft space - early 20th century UK terrace houses the lofts were not always totally isolated.

**I like the honey pot idea too!

 

[XIII]

A neighbour that can hack passwords that are 40 characters long?

Resistance is futile...

How do you notice him/her hacking your wireless network?

 

[degrub]

upload your logs that show evidence that your wireless has been hacked, please.

we have recently had a number of "my router has been hacked" threads here, so without evidence, it is very hard to help you diagnose.

 

[ugandy]

check any Apple devices on your network. i see iphones, apple tv, macs, etc all using randomized mac addresses by default and not providing their network names. until i disabled the feature on the clients, i though some neighbor was connected to my wifi too.

 

[sfx2000]

One of my neighbors keeps hacking into my WiFi network

The recent password that was cracked was 40 characters long (WPA2-PSK-AES). MAC address filtering did not help.

No - they are not hacking in to your WiFi if you have WPA2-Personal with AES...

Seriously, they not hacking your WiFi over the air - it can be done perhaps, but one has to be very determined, and have the technical skills and resources to do so.

(if your neighbor has that particular set of skills, I would like to talk to them about a job offer, I'm always looking for people with those...)

Just in case - turn off the guest network, as some router/AP's out there, the guest network is open with a captive portal (Linksys SmartWifi is a good example), and make sure you have WAN access disabled on the router, as this is where most hacks get in...

Guidance offered above about hiding SSID's - that doesn't work actually, and is bad advice there...

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @Hudiniyo.

I too am skeptical of your router's WiFi getting hacked (over the air). Please tell us how you know you're hacked.

Have you previously shared your WiFi password with this neighbor in the past? He may have one of your internal devices infected and can get in no matter what password you come up with.

If you really are hacked. First, check externally that your internet connection to the world isn't tappable.

Second, disconnect all devices connected to the network. Do not reconnect them until you've either thoroughly scanned them or have performed a clean OS install on each. Even having done this, do not reconnect them until all steps are completed here.

Third, disconnect the router's WAN port/connection and fully reset and configure your router offline, without using any saved backup config files, any USB drives (that you haven't scanned for virii), and without connecting to your ISP until your router is as fully configured, and secured, as possible.

The computing power to 'hack' a truly random (you're not using common phrases, are you?) 40-character WiFi password is not in reach of any home user today (even if they're using quantum computing hardware that can fit inside a room of a normal home).

 

[follower]

Guess who's back? Back again...
I think it's him.
Clue.
1. New Around Here.
2. my neighbors keeps hacking.
3. The recent password that was cracked.
4. I’m in the process of purchasing a new router/AP.

https://www.snbforums.com/search/564771/

 

[Clark Griswald]

FYI
This is why use a 41 character password

 

[Paliv]

check any Apple devices on your network. i see iphones, apple tv, macs, etc all using randomized mac addresses by default and not providing their network names. until i disabled the feature on the clients, i though some neighbor was connected to my wifi too.

Many Amazon devices do this too, e-readers and fire tablets. Some PCs as well.

 

[AndreiV]

Guess who's back? Back again...
I think it's him.
Clue.
1. New Around Here.
2. my neighbors keeps hacking.
3. The recent password that was cracked.
4. I’m in the process of purchasing a new router/AP.

https://www.snbforums.com/search/564771/

No question , it's been the same scenario every few months for at least 4 years now and the same people keep falling for it .

 

[follower]

No question , it's been the same scenario every few months for at least 4 years now and the same people keep falling for it .

Exactly. I don't understand why...

 

[AndreiV]

Exactly. I don't understand why...

Postitis : the desperate attention seeking need to answer every post on a forum even when the answer given is pointless drivel.

 

[L&LD]

I'm here to help where I can, without judgment or prejudice.

Nobody is falling for anything. Nothing desperate is happening.

And the replies given by some members are worth repeating, if only for the new batch of network kids coming online, continuously.

 

[follower]

I think it's not very convincing and hard to understand.

 

[Tech9]

I think @Hudiniyo got hacked for good and can't even reply here.

 

[Clark Griswald]

Postitis : the desperate attention seeking need to answer every post on a forum even when the answer given is pointless drivel.

I'm glad you directed your post to Postitis, and you weren't referring to me